A sizable majority of California State University's incoming freshmen, woefully unprepared for college, still need remedial math and English.

Systemwide, 58 percent of freshmen who entered in fall 2003 needed remedial help in math, English or both. The proportion is down a percentage point from the year before, but it's a far cry from Cal State trustees' goal of reducing the portion of incoming freshmen who need remedial education to no more than 10 percent by 2007.

The problem costs the 23-campus Cal State system money because it must divert resources that could be spent on more advanced course work. And it costs students money because remedial classes don't count toward graduation but students must pay to enroll in them.

The university this spring is launching a new test that high school juniors can take to determine whether they need help with math and English before they graduate. Called the Early Assessment Program, it will be a voluntary addendum to the California Standards Test.

"What we need to do is identify students earlier in the process to determine what their strengths might be in English and mathematics," Cal State Assistant Vice Chancellor Allison Jones said. "It will make them better prepared."

The university is cracking down. It told 2,573 students last spring that they couldn't return until they completed basic math and English classes at a community college. That was 6.8 percent of the students who were freshmen in fall 2002, down from 8.2 percent the year before. In 2000, the university kicked out 6.7 percent.

Systemwide, 37 percent of students entering in fall 2003 needed remedial math, just as in 2002. Those needing remedial English decreased a percentage point over last year to 48 percent.

At Cal State Hayward, the proportion needing remedial math decreased from 48.5 percent to 43 percent. The group needing remedial English increased slightly from 60.5 to 62 percent.

Students take placement tests before starting freshman year to determine whether they need remedial math or English.

The improvement in math may be the result of partnerships Cal State Hayward created with high schools to better align college and high school curriculums -- efforts that budget cuts have since eliminated, said Sally Murphy, director of Hayward's general education program. Hayward had similar partnerships for English instruction, but it is harder to improve, she said.

"English is not everybody's first language, so for those students who learn a dialect of English which is improper, or speak another language at home, making progress on English is more difficult," she said.

The new Cal State test, which is voluntary, will consist of 15 English questions, a writing sample and 15 math questions. Together, they will add one hour and 45 minutes to the California Standards Test. Students in their junior year can take the English or math portions, or both. They will learn their test results in August and whether they're exempt from taking Cal State's math and English placement tests. If they aren't, they will be encouraged to improve their math and English skills during their senior year.

Last year, roughly 100 high schools in a statewide pilot program administered the pass-fail test. Results from that program will be available next month. Some area educators questioned the value of pass or fail results that don't detail how students can improve.

Pinole Valley High School Principal Haidee Foust had not heard about the addendum but says it's a good idea. She blames Cal State's remedial education problem on high schools' failing to teach to state standards. It's no wonder, she said, that Cal State freshmen who need remedial math and English often received decent grades in those subjects in high school.

"There were no ... clear expectations of what those students needed to know before they were passed to the next level," she said. "There is too much left to chance."

The early assessment program's results, she said, can help high schools figure out how to better prepare students, maybe by encouraging them to take extra courses at a community college or providing tutoring.

Whether the new test reduces the need for remediation won't be clear until those students enter Cal State in fall 2005.